


Who Guards the Guardian?

by Sensue



Series: Suitcase of Memories [20]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brotherhood AU, Comedy, Family, Gen, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Parent Dean Winchester, Psychic Abilities, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sensue/pseuds/Sensue
Summary: Dean Winchester typically visits the pond at Pastor Jim's farm when he needs to think. He's been out there for hours. Sam and Caleb are worried. Once he is able to speak, he reveals life-changing news.
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Suitcase of Memories [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887088
Kudos: 8





	Who Guards the Guardian?

Sam stared out of the patio door window, worried, as he dialed the number he'd long since memorized. "Caleb, what's the ETA, man? I thought you were going to be here ten minutes ago?"

The voice on the other end answered promptly, "Give me five, Sam! I'm stuck waiting for these damn ducks to cross the road. Is everything alright? No one is bleeding or dying, right?" Reaves wasn't being sarcastic; the boys lived under Murphy's thumb. If anything could go wrong, it would go wrong.

Sam bit chewed on his thumb; it was a habit his brother and friend had tried to break from his childhood. He remembered the time that his thumb had been soaked in hot peppers as he slept and when he put his hand to his mouth, it was a moment that he'd never forgotten; unfortunately, even a burning hot mouth didn't break the habit. "No, not dying anyway... but, I can't promise that no one is bleeding."

The phone sounded as it was being shifted around, "What's that supposed to mean? Becoming cryptic in your old age, runt? You're okay, right?"

The younger man continued to stare out the window, mentally wishing that he had the ability to teleport at will. "I'm fine. Dean, however, is floating around the middle of the lake in his boat and won't come in, and it looks like it's going to rain. I've pretty much tried everything; he's acting like he's in shock or something."

Suddenly, he heard the roar of Caleb's new car and a few seconds later his friend's car drove into his view. Caleb climbed out of the shiny car as he continued to speak, "That's not a good sign. What happened to Juliet?" As he opened the front door, they both clicked off the cell phones.

Sam pushed his bangs out of his forehead, "I don't know. She's not here. I walked in expecting Dean to be in the pit working on that Mustang that was dropped off the other day, but he wasn't there. I searched the entire farm and found him out in the middle of the lake. At first, he wouldn't even answer me when I called him; I'd thought he'd passed out or something."

Caleb huffed, "Why didn't you just drag him out? Use the other boat and pull his into shore?" He flung his arms in the air in that 'do I have to think of everything' manner.

With a roll of his eyes, Sam retorted, "Don't you think I tried that? Somehow, he's tapped into one of his 'Guardian' water powers-every time I try to pull up my boat next to him, a wave pushes me back to the dock."

"Well, shit!" The Knight swore loudly. "Did he say that he wanted to be alone? You know that's where he goes to be alone."

"He didn't say anything at all. It was as if he literally shut down. I'm worried, Caleb. It's why I called you. I thought that maybe you could get through to him."

The older man paced back and forth, staring outside towards the lake. "I can't get a reading on him; ever since he's become the Guardian... but, now, all I feel is turbulent emotion. Do you have any idea what might be the problem?"

Sam looked around the farmhouse that had become his brother's home, thinking. "I have a feeling that it might be Juliet. I know that... Caleb, man, he loves her. I know that he was worried about telling her about the hunting-especially after the thing with Cassie. He wanted to let her into his life."

"Yeah, he said something along those lines to me too. He told me that he was going to tell her last week, though. I hadn't heard anything since then...I thought he got cold feet. You?"

Caleb could see the agitation coursing through the Scholar, "No, I was busy with class and just sent him a couple of texts to check up on him. He responded to all of them, so I thought that everything was alright."

They both stared at each other then went back to looking out the window. Sam had been right about the weather; it was starting to rain sprinkles. "You don't think he's been outside floating around for the last week, right?" Caleb arched his eye-brow, worried.

Sam started searching for evidence to contradict that idea and breathed a sigh of relief when he found the still hot coffee-maker. He held up the coffee pot, "Only the bottom is burned, so he's probably only been out there for an hour or two."

Nodding, "That's good... well, we need to get him inside before it starts to really pour. We don't need him getting sick."

"You got any ideas on how to do that? The last time he did this, well, Pastor Jim used to go out and get him to come inside."

Caleb nodded, "I know... Trust me, I can't walk into this house without thinking about him and John. The last time, with Cassie, we just went to a bar and got drunk. I used to tell him that the right one would come along one day. I really liked Juliet, you know... she was, well, special."

"I did too, man. She brought out this side of Dean that I haven't seen in a while, you know: The playful part... the one that isn't stressed out or overwhelmed with responsibility. He relaxed around her in a way I haven't seen before. I mean, with women, he's usually 'wham bam, thank you ma'am', he barely remembers their name in the morning. Juliet, though, she practically lives here. At first, I thought she was just helping out with the farm, but, she's really here for him. But, if she's hurt Dean, Caleb-" Sam ran his hands through his hair, "He's been hurt too many times in his life. Shit, I'll just... kill her." The last statement made Caleb roll his eyes.

"That's just, mature, kiddo. We need to focus on helping Dean... not about killing his ex." Caleb shook his head as he walked towards the patio door that led to the lake. "I'm going to bring him inside- just, put your own feelings away, Sammy. It's not about how you feel right now. It's about Dean. So, just be prepared to support him."

Nodding, Sam agreed. He only hoped that Caleb could get through to him in a way that he hadn't been able to. Deciding to make himself useful, he poured the old pot of coffee down the drain and started a new one. The rain was really coming down now, so he went to the linen closet and pulled out a couple of towels and a robe. Both Dean and Caleb would need them, as well as somewhere they could be warm. Grabbing some of the dried logs from the porch, he threw them into the fireplace and worked on starting a fire.

By the time the fire started crackling, Caleb was guiding Dean into the house. He was right about his brother looking shell-shocked: his skin was pale and completely soaked. Their friend was practically carrying him inside and settled him on the couch. Once Dean was sitting, Sam took over, throwing a towel over his head and another over his shoulders. A third was thrown to Caleb, and it was quickly put to use. Caleb wiped the rain from his own face and head, before coming over to help Sam with Dean. Between both of them, they stripped the wet man of his clothes and wrapped him up in the robe and towels until his face flushed with a pink color.

"Hey, Deuce, talk to us..." Caleb tried to get the younger man to respond. Dean just cradled his head into his hands, his gaze focused on some spot only he could see on the carpet.

Sam stared at his brother, thinking for a while before he spoke. "Dean, I'm sorry... I should've called you this week. I know that things suck right now, but it'll be alright. You've got us, right?"

Caleb seconded the statement by squeezing Dean's shoulder. "He's right, Deuce. We've got your back. I know that you really liked Juliet, man...but, you can't let yourself fall apart just because she left."

"What?" Dean's head flew up in a panic, "She left? What, did she call you? What did she say?" He jumped out of the couch, the robe becoming cape-like in his alarm.

Both Sam and Caleb just sat back on the couch in pure surprise, staring at the frantic pacing of the Guardian. "For fuck's sake, Caleb! What did she say? Did she say she was leaving me?"

Caleb's mouth gapped in shock, "Uh, no. I didn't talk to her."

Sam held up his hand, as if he was still a student in his classroom before he asked a question. "Uh, so, she didn't dump you?"

Dean twisted so fast, the droplet of water flung around the room as if he were a wet dog. "No! She didn't dump me. Why would she dump me? I'm awesome! Why did you say that she left?"

Slowly, Sam stood up and stepped in front of his big brother. "Well, you were drifting in the middle of the lake... you wouldn't talk to any of us. We figured that you told Juliet about the whole hunting thing... and assumed that she didn't take it very well."

Dean's eyes bulged as he got angry, shoving his brother away from his path. "Fuck, Sammy! I thought-I thought the worst! I thought that I screwed it up."

Caleb caught Sam before he could hit the coffee table, now seriously concerned for the mental welfare of his friend. He was making absolutely no sense. He straightened the younger man out, leading him to sit on the cushion beside him as they followed Dean's pacing with their eyes. It was like staring at a one-man ping-pong match, darting from one side of the room to another in the space of a heartbeat.

He took in a deep breath, trying to wrap his head around what Dean was saying. "Alright, so I'm going to stop assuming right now. So, you did tell Juliet about us hunting? About the Brotherhood, right?"

Dean huffed, "Yeah, I told her." He started licking his lips and running his hands through his hair.

"And it went well? She didn't freak out?" Caleb prodded, his hand waving in the air, trying to get his friend to share the details they all seemed to be missing.

The questions caused Dean to slow down, "yeah, it did." A small smile appeared on his face. "Really well, in fact."

Sam gave him a smile in return, "Well, that's good, Dean. So, where is she?"

Dean became distracted again and restarted pacing, "She's visiting her family. She'll be back this weekend." He took in a deep breath, then plopped down in the seat in between his best friend and brother, cushioning his head in his hands _again_.

Caleb patted his back, "I don't see what the problem is, Deuce. She's coming back..."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Well, that's sort of the problem. She's not going to come back alone."

A grin came to Sam's face, "Let me guess, you have to meet her parents?"

Dean lifted his face to his brother. He huffed, "You're a little on the slow side, Sammy. I've already met them." He rubbed his face tiredly, throwing his head back against the cushions as he stared at the fire. "I've also asked her to move in with me, permanently."

A slap against his shoulder jarred the emotional man, "Way to go, Deuce! I'm happy for you. So, what's the problem? 'Cause from where I'm sitting, you've got a woman who accepts you as a hunter, her parents like you, she's moving in with you, and the icing on the cake- she's the best cook we've ever met. She even likes Sammy and he's just ugly."

Sam stuck his tongue out at him as if he were five again. "You're such a jerk," he spits out before going back to his brother, "You know, Dean, Caleb actually has a point... what exactly happened?"

The Guardian just blinked for a few minutes. "Well, you know, I was really happy... I mean, _**really happy**_. Juliet and I, well, we surpassed my record with 'Gumby-girl' last weekend. And in our excitement, we forgot one _important_ thing."

The Knight and the Scholar's eyes got large as the suddenly _assumed_ what Dean was going to say. "I guess that it takes a few days before those tests come out accurately. She took, like four of them, this morning. They all turned pink. So, I guess we're going to have a baby."

It was on the tip of Caleb's tongue to call him a moron... to go off on him for the lack of protection, but he realized that having a child was his fear, not his best friend's. If anything, Dean wanted a family; even if he wouldn't admit it out loud. He'd seen the disappointment in Dean's eyes when Lisa had told him that Ben wasn't his son. Dean secretly told him that he wanted to leave a legacy, to have children. Perhaps this was God's way of giving the Guardian his heart's desire... of rewarding him.

Sam was in complete shock. His brother was going to be a father. "Oh my god, Dean. You're going to be a father." He looked at his brother and swallowed. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I'm going to screw this up, Sammy. I don't know if I'm ready for this." Dean sounded breathless, his eyes filling and his chin wobbled in self-depreciation. They both saw how much he was beating himself up.

Caleb moved in front of him and gripped his neck, "Deuce, you'll be fine. I know you and I know that you are going to be the best father to that kid. Look at what you've gone with Sammy. You've been taking care of him since you've been four, man. He turned out good." Caleb smiled.

Sam jumped in too, lending his support. "Plus, don't forget that you have us. We'll help out any way that we can. I mean, Caleb was our official nanny- you can just draft him into the position again." He laughed at the glare that was shot his way in the last part, "And, remember, you and Juliet still have nine months to get ready. Think of it like a hunt-just do the research."

Dean rolled his eyes at his little brother, "I don't think it's that simple, Sammy."

"Well, think of it this way- if Joshua can do it, you can too." Caleb grinned as the brothers looked at him with surprise. "I think that Josh and Carolyn wanted to keep it a secret for a little while longer, but Carolyn is going to have a baby-soon, I think."

"Wow. That's uh... a surprise. Why'd they keep it secret?" Dean wanted to know.

Caleb answered, "I think that she was having some problems with the pregnancy at first and didn't want to jinx it until she'd gotten through the majority of the second trimester. Esme and Mac were the only ones who knew about it. That's why Mac was on your case, Sam, on letting her take some time off..."

Sam huh'ed, "It makes sense now." He smiled, "So, your kid and Josh's kid can play together... they should be around the same age."

"My kid, huh?" Dean had some trouble saying it, but the thought brought a smile to his face. He started laughing, "I'm having a baby, Sammy. Juliet and I are having a kid...my kid. Wow."

Caleb jumped up and grabbed three beers from the fridge before sitting down and handing one to each of them. "Well, I'd say that this calls for a toast." He held up his beer bottle, "To fatherhood."

The glasses clinked together and they all sipped at their beer, each with their own thoughts and dreams for the future.


End file.
